You can use apps in meetings for some time now. It’s a great way to quickly share content more interactively or to add additional features to a meeting. Add a poll or share a task from a task management tool. The feature was limited only to scheduled meetings but now you can use it in channel meetings too!
Introduction
Apps in Teams are the main way to extend Teams native functionalities. You can use it as a tab in a channel, as a private app (visible in the left-hand navigation pane), add it to a chat, or use it directly in a meeting. Each place has its own requirements and limitations – for example, the Teams Approval app can be used as a personal app but not as a tab or a meeting app. You can also create a custom app and configure it to work in a specific place.
With the latest update, you can use apps in channel meetings. The feature is rolling out right now and should be finished this month (March 2023). You can test it in public developer preview.
How to add apps to channel meeting
- The first step is to schedule a channel meeting
- Open the meeting details window and click the + button. You can select the app you want to add. This method allows you to prepare apps before the meeting starts (for example, create a poll). Not all apps can be used in channel meetings and there’s no information on which one is supported or not. This method works great if you know which one works.
The Poll app is supported so I added it to my channel meeting 😊
- You can always add an app during the meeting. Click on the Apps icon on the meeting bar.
This method is easier – you can choose only supported apps. The list is short and does not confuse users.
I selected the Miro app and I can present my diagram and work on it.
- You can find all the used apps in the meeting details window. Information is available during and after the meeting.
What’s supported and what’s not
To make it more clear and give you the bigger picture of possibilities – full list of supported meeting types.
Meeting types that support apps:
- Scheduled meetings
- Scheduled channel meetings
- One-on-one calls
- Group calls
- Instant meetings
- Webinar
Meeting types that do not support apps:
- Instant channel meetings
- Meetings in shared channels
- Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) Teams calls
- End-to-end encrypted Teams calls
Summary
Adding apps to channel meetings is a great update. It gives you more flexibility in meeting planning. I personally use channel meetings very often and I missed Polls and Miro apps. Now I can use it whenever I need it. The existing limitation (not supporting instant channel meetings) is not a big deal in my opinion. You can quickly schedule a channel meeting if you need it.
Developers can also use this new feature to update their custom apps to work on channels. If you have such an app, you can prepare and check what needs to be done to make it work.
If you heavily rely on channel meetings the update is for you. Let’s wait for the final rollout of the apps in the channel meeting update.
